Let's pretend that time travel is not an NCAA violation. Let's say the current Stanford football team could go back and face some of the school's other great teams from the distant past. The current team would win easily, right?

Of course, remember that at kickoff time, the unbeaten 1905 Stanford team would not be wearing helmets. That could be a slight disadvantage.

Also, keep in mind that the dominant 1940 Stanford team would lose the surprise element of being the first college squad to successfully utilize the T-formation. The 2010 defense wouldn't be caught off guard and would contain it easily.

For these reasons -- but mostly because such games can't ever happen -- it is always silly to compare teams of different eras.

The 2010 Stanford team is the first in school history to win 11 games.

The game will be the Cardinal's first Bowl Championship Series appearance since the 2000 Rose Bowl. The sole defeat came at the hands of Oregon, which will compete in the BCS championship game.

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There is some natural speculation, then, about whether this might be the best Stanford football team to ever lace up cleats. The speculation isn't scurrilous. The question is being debated seriously by those who have seen many decades of Cardinal football, including longtime broadcast voice Bob Murphy. His association with the school as a student, administrator and broadcaster dates back 60 years.

"If they had beat Oregon, it would be a cinch that this was the best Stanford team ever," said Murphy, now retired and living in Santa Cruz.

"They would probably be playing for the national championship themselves next week."

Keep in mind that Stanford has not been a constant college football powerhouse. The program has endured fabulous eras and fallow eras.

Over 108 years of competition, this is only the school's 22nd bowl trip. So when a Cardinal team jumps up to grab the nation's attention as it has this year ... well, it automatically becomes a candidate for the best ever.

Gary Migdol, a former Stanford athletic administrator who authored a definitive 1997 book about the university's athletic history ("Stanford: Home of Champions"), believes that the current Cardinal group is on a very short list of teams that might be considered the best. So does Tyrone Willingham, who in 1999 coached the Cardinal to the Rose Bowl.

"This year has been a wonderful story for a truly great team," Willingham said. "I'm always cautious, though, in ever calling any team the greatest. That's one of those things you can't really answer. But there is no question that this year's team has to rank as one of the greatest Stanford teams."

In the mind of Migdol, the discussion involves three teams -- the 2010 Cardinal of coach Jim Harbaugh, the 1926 outfit coached by the legendary Pop Warner, and the 1940 team that revolutionized offensive football.

—It's hard to argue against those 1926 and 1940 teams," Migdol said.

"The 1926 team was the unofficial national champion and tied Alabama in the Rose Bowl. The 1940 team changed the college game with the T-formation and is still the only unbeaten, untied team in school history."

But what about since 1940? The current Cardinal team has certainly rolled up numbers that are impressive for any era. During the 2010 regular season, Stanford outscored opponents by an average of 23 points per game. Andrew Luck threw 28 touchdown passes and completed 70 percent of his attempts. Running back Stepfan Taylor averaged 4.9 yards per carry en route to 1,074 yards.

"In modern times, there's a legitimate argument to be made that this is the most dominant Stanford team," Migdol said. "Other teams have won Pac-10 or Pac-8 titles and Rose Bowls. But those teams were not as dominant. The 2010 team simply overwhelmed most of its opponents. So, is this the best Stanford team in modern times? Maybe. A win in the Orange Bowl would likely change my answer to yes."

That victory isn't guaranteed, of course. So it's still a dangerous leap to make. However, athletes in the 21st century are larger and faster than those from the first half of the 20th century.

You would have to believe that in the physicality and speed matchups, the 2010 team would steamroller the 1940 team. And against the 1926 team, Luck would surely pick apart and bamboozle a defense that was designed to stop the old single wing.

Or maybe not.

The 1940 team, which adjusted well when coach Clark Shaughnessy installed the newfangled T-formation right before the season began, might also have been able to adjust and hold its own against modern schemes. Frankie Albert, a future 49ers All-Pro, was the quarterback.

Murphy was a 10-year-old when he saw that team play and has remained forever impressed.

For his part, Willingham believes that his 1999 team, which averaged more than 35 points per game, could have put up some touchdowns against the 2010 team -- though stopping Luck defensively might have been an issue. Willingham also noted that both the 1999 team and 2010 -- and all good Stanford teams he's known -- have possessed strong and powerful offensive lines. So the battle would be decided in the trenches.

"Head to head on a given day," Willingham noted, "who's to say which team would win?"

Yes, time-travel football can be frustrating that way. But every Stanford fan in 2010 will definitely agree on this point: